Put yourself in the place of a master, of what is immaterial. It’s a way of being, not a relationship to something. Masters learn to flow. Masters don’t whine. Masters have fun.
Hilarion
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Today Hilarion and I pay homage to my teacher, Nancy Retzlaff. She passed peacefully from our third-dimensional world on Monday May 27, 2013. She was an extraordinary and inspirational being—warm, funny, kindly, spiritually solid, and definitely not stuffy. She understood that the immaterial was truly important, but she was grateful for and relished experience in the material world, too. Nancy knew how to have fun and enjoy life, while maintaining absolute personal integrity. She exemplified everything I might hope to be.
Hilarion suggested I might share some excerpts from my recently published book The Sharing: The Owner’s Manual for Being Human that illustrate what Nancy was (and still is) all about.
From the Acknowledgements
“Nancy Retzlaff conveyed the message from the Council of Seven that got me thinking about this material. She is the most valued of teachers, someone who practices what she preaches. She has my deep gratitude and respect.”
Nancy walked her talk with grace and ease. She seemed to adapt to changing circumstances effortlessly. She was the perfect example of someone who kept their beliefs, thoughts, words, and deeds in absolute alignment, creating harmony of the inner and the outer world.
From Chapter 12, Are Our Lives Spiritual Enough?
“We do not have to lead a contemplative religious life to be spiritual, although it is okay to do so, and it is highly recommended if it truly brings us joy. We merely need to live our usual lives from a different place of perception. If we open to the sharing within and are grateful for what life brings us, we will find richness and happiness in ordinary, everyday events. We don’t so much need to be holy as wholly connected to the sharing within and wholly in love with life. This is a spiritual lifestyle.”
Nancy certainly was no nun. She enjoyed her food and drink and socializing with friends and family. She also enjoyed her private quiet meditation time—what she called Mount Bedroom. She really shone in her role as a teacher. She understood that all of the strife, conflict, fear, and judgment is the illusion of separation consciousness. She perceived life differently than most of us do, honoring the divine nature in everyone. Her aim was to be joyful no matter what went on around her. She didn’t complain. She took personal responsibility for her reality. Her approach to life was absolutely spiritual and also made her great fun to be around. I believe all of her friends and students hope to grow up to become Nancy one day.
From Chapter 23, Death of the Body
“As a human, we are born into our physical body to express our thread’s purpose, and our physical body dies when we have completed that purpose. Because all existence is simultaneous, our birth, death, and progression in this life have no real or lasting meaning. The only thing that does matter is how we choose to experience our existence. If we perceive the present moment gratefully and as an encounter with the divine, we are fulfilling our purpose: to allow the sharing to experience itself in love and joy.”
Nancy’s death was just as profound as her life. She passed, simply, easily, gracefully into a new way of being. There was no prolonged illness, great pain, or complicated medical treatment. She merely shifted spiritual gears. Having achieved her soul’s purpose in this world and having enjoyed life fully, she moved on—joyously I believe—to the next great adventure.
You may or may not have known Nancy. If you did, I’m certain you hold the same respect and gratitude for her essence that I do. If you weren’t blessed to know her, I’m equally sure there has been someone in your life that you hold in similar regard. Let’s take a moment to commune with our sharing within—our inner divinity—and our honored teacher, to find out how we can better learn from her or his example.
We’ll being by making our breath soft and even. We’ll allow our focus to rest on our heart area, where we picture our sharing within as a warm golden light. As we inhale the light becomes increasingly strong, steady and bright. As we exhale, the light spills out through and around us. We will continue the rhythmic breathing and visualization until a sense of peace and completion fills us—the sign of conscious connection with our sharing within.
Next we’ll picture meeting our treasured teacher on a park bench overlooking a peaceful scene. We will see the two of us enveloped in the golden light of our sharing within. We’ll greet her or him joyfully and thankfully. We’ll ask our teacher to share with us a trait of hers/his that it would be most helpful for us to emulate. We will also request that they give us a simple and easy way to remember to do so.
Perhaps we will hear our teacher will tells us (as Nancy is telling me now) that more patience would be useful. Perhaps our teacher will remind us (as Nancy is reminding me now) of the Angel of Patience from the Angel card deck. The angel is portrayed knitting a sweater that is partially complete. But, as Nancy was fond of saying, the angel never doubts that her work will become a sweater, even when there are only a few stitches on the needle. Whatever reminder your teacher provides, you can trust that it is perfect for you.
Finally, we’ll take a little bit of time—however long we like—to bask in the presence of our teacher and the golden light of our sharing within. When we’re ready, we’ll thank her or him for sharing their wisdom with us. We will also thank our sharing within for facilitating communication with our teacher. We’re grateful to be connected with our teacher in the sharing and we know that she or he is always with us.
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Divinely unique and beautiful reader, who is your master teacher? Please share…